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MST3K 516 - Alien from L.A.
The Movie Synopsis A nerdy teenager (Ireland) goes looking for her missing archeologist father and stumbles into a strange underground civilization.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092532/ Information The name of Wanda’s father, Arnold Saknussemm, comes from Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Center of the Earth (upon which this movie was very loosely based). The phrase Dull surprise!! comes from this episode. Significant amounts of footage from this film (both used and unused) was utilized to comprise the bulk of one of Albert Pyun's later, uncredited, projects, Journey to the Center of the Earth. While the movie begins as a modernized adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel, it then quickly changes into a clumsily put together continuation of Alien From L.A. using recycled footage to pad itself out. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Crow presides over boot camp at Fort Satellite of Love Segment One / Invention exchange: Dr. F presents the Vend-a-gut, which makes getting a donor organ as easy as getting a Snickers bar. Mike demonstrates Fridge Udders. Tom and Crow try to cow tip the fridge and Crow ends up crushed underneath it. Segment Two: Crow, Tom, and Mike play guess the supermodel. The bots claim it’s Clara Peller. Mike won't believe it. (The clues actually point to Paulina Porizkova.) Segment Three: Crow, Tom, and Mike sing “My Wild Irish Ireland,” with Tom doing the Kathy Ireland part. Pathetically, Mike starts to think Tom really is Kathy. Segment Four: Crow, Tom, and Mike play the “guess Kathy’s emotions” game. Segment Five: Frank is still feeding change to the Vend-a-gut. Stinger: Kathy says “Yuck!” Obscure References *''"I want to watch 'Sisters'!"'' Sisters was a TV drama series that aired from 1991 to 1996. *''"And what is the name of your robot?"'' Crow is paraphrasing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket. Note also that Mike's crazed facial expression at the beginning of the next segment is a parody of the character Pyle's mental breakdown. *''"Getting dumped in...about an hour."'' A parody of the advertising slogan for LensCrafters. *''"He looks like Clint Howard!"'' Ron Howard's brother Clint is a prolific B-movie actor, and occasionally appears in films directed by his more successful sibling. *''"Going sideways, Mr. Saknussemm?"'' A parody of the spoken-word intro to the Aerosmith song "Love in an Elevator". Saknussem's the name of a character from Journey to the Center of the Earth. *''"Hey, it's the Blue Mosque!" "No, the Blue Mosque isn't on a hill!"'' The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, is an Istanbul landmark. *''"When I squint, you look like Ian Anderson!"'' Ian Anderson is the lead singer of Jethro Tull. *''"Saigon. Shucks. I can't believe I'm still in Saigon!"'' A parody of the opening line from Apocalypse Now. *''"Has anybody here seen my old friend John?"'' A quote from the song "Abraham, Martin & John". *''"It's 'Home Alone 3: The Destruction of Jared-Syn'!"'' Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn was a 3-D post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie released in 1983. *''"It's a Samurai!"'' The Suzuki Samurai was a compact SUV that drastically declined in popularity after a Consumer Reports article suggested that it was dangerously prone to rollovers. *''"Schlepcar!"'' A reference to the Sid and Marty Krofft TV show Wonderbug, in which a living jalopy named Schlepcar could magically become the dune buggy of the title. *''"I wanna come over and roll in your clover and "Kiss your Blarney Stone."'' The Blarney Stone is a famous Irish landmark where visitors kiss it for good luck. But since they're singing about their 'love' for Kathy Ireland, Crow is probably also using this as a euphemism. *''"Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry..."'' Quoted from "Surrey with the Fringe on Top", a song from the musical Oklahoma!. *''"One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble!"'' Directly from the song 'One Night in Bangkok' by Chess. *''"Tonight! Sam Giancana sings Pagliaccii ."'' Sam Giancana was a Sicilian American gangster whose exploits influenced those depicted in The Godfather. Pagliacci is an Italian opera famous for an opera singer dressed as a clown. *''"Hey, it's a Nelson!"'' A reference to the pop-metal band Nelson, fronted by Ricky Nelson's twin sons. *''"It's like a Peter Greenaway set!"'' Peter Greenaway is the director of such films as The Belly of an Architect and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. *''"Live the good life in the off-world colonies!"'' A quote from Blade Runner. *''"You can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!"'' A quote from the spoken-word outro to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". *''"Paul Westerberg to the rescue!"'' Paul Westerberg is the lead singer of the Replacements. *''"It's the cover of Tommy!"'' The Who's Tommy album cover is similar to the background in the shot. *''"Maybe they'll run into Spinal Tap back there!"'' A reference to the scene in This is Spinal Tap where the titular band gets lost in the bowels of a concert hall. *''"Tonight, kids- something really scary!"'' Crow is imitating Count Floyd, a character from SCTV. *''"Are they on Captain Ron's boat?"'' Captain Ron was a 1992 comedy movie starring Kurt Russell. Video Release * Commercially released on DVD by Shout Factory in March 2013 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 26, a 4-DVD set with The Magic Sword, The Mole People, ''and ''Danger!! Death Ray. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Dystopian Film Category:80s Movie Category:PG-rated movies Category:Episodes directed by Trace Beaulieu